RUSSELLVILLE -- If you're looking for fun between now and Nov. 12, opening day of modern gun deer season, consider a multipurpose camping trip in Arkansas.
The weather is ideal. Daytime temperatures hover in the 80s, making it possible to hike, fish, hunt and even swim in comfort. Nighttime temperatures dip into the 50s, facilitating deep, restful sleep without needing a heater.
Your only quandary is deciding which part of the state to enjoy. Here are a few suggestions to help you decide:
Ozarks
Leaves are starting to turn in the Ozark Mountains, and autumn color will peak from north to south over the next couple of weeks. You can soak them in with a wade fishing trip in a cool mountain stream, a float fishing trip or a hike on the Ozark Highlands Trail or Buffalo River Trail.
If you enjoy dry camping without campside utilities, there are some excellent campgrounds in the Ozark National Forest. They include Fairview, Ozone, Wolf Pen, Haw Creek Falls and Redding national recreation areas.
Fairview is on Arkansas 7, north of Dover. It has a handful of sites on a ridge under tall pines. Each site has a fire pit and grill, and there's a pit toilet at the north end of the campground, near the Ozark Highland Trailhead. I have spent many mornings hunting squirrels between Fairview and the Hurricane Creek Wilderness Area. The deep hollow on the other side of the mountain is where I heard a ruffed grouse drumming in October 1987.
We really wish the U.S. Forest Service would reopen the closed loop because it has the best sites. It's been closed so long that most people probably don't even know it's there.
Ozone is on Arkansas 21, north of Ozone. It has about 20 campsites in a piney loop, and it also offers easy access to the Ozark Highlands Trail.
Haw Creek Falls is on Arkansas 123 between Pelsor and Hagarville. It has about a dozen campsites in a deep, wooded hollow. The neighboring national forest land is open to hunting, and some remote streams have some good smallmouth bass fishing for explorers.
No visit to Haw Creek Falls is complete without a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast biscuit at the Hagarville Grocery.
Wolf Pen is on Forest Service Road 1003 at Oark. Its six campsites are in a line along the Mulberry River and offers quick access to many thousands of acres of public recreation in the Ozark National Forest.
Redding Recreation Area is also on the Mulberry River, just a few miles off Arkansas 23 at Cass. This is a major hub for kayakers and hunters, so it's the busiest of the three.
On the Buffalo River, there are excellent campgrounds at Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point national recreation areas. Tyler Bend is busy in the summer, but it's peaceful in the fall.
Arkansas River Valley
The River Valley contains some of our finest state parks that offer convenient access to outdoor recreation in the Ozark and Ouachita national forests.
Petit Jean State Park occupies the top of its namesake mountain near Morrilton. It has 125 campsites, including 35 with 30- and 50-amp electrical, water and sewer hookups. Ninety Class B sites have 30 amp electrical and water hookups.
Each of the four campground areas includes a modern bathhouse with hot showers and flush toilets.
Decent crappie and bream fishing is available in the park at Lake Bailey, but there's excellent fishing nearby in the Arkansas River. In the Petit Jean Wildlife Management Area is Kingfisher Lake, where you'll find excellent bass fishing and a better than average chance of seeing an alligator.
Excellent squirrel hunting and archery deer hunting are available in Petit Jean WMA, as well.
Lake Dardanelle State Park at Russellville is on the banks of the Arkansas River and offers instant access to the best bass fishing in Arkansas. Lake Dardanelle also boasts excellent fishing for crappie, bream, white bass, catfish and, at times, striped bass. The delights of the Ozark National Forest are 30 minutes north.
The park's campsites have full water and electrical hookups, picnic tables, grills and lantern posts.
A few miles upstream is Mount Nebo State Park, a delightfully rustic spot atop one of our most picturesque mountains. In addition to its famous stone cabins, Mount Nebo has 24 car campsites and 10 walk-in sites.
Mount Nebo is renowned for its majestic views of the lowlands. It's always breezy and cool, and its autumn air is especially crisp.
The steep, winding road is not for the timid, so exploring the neighboring countryside takes desire and dedication.
Ouachita Mountains
Several state parks and Corps of Engineers recreation areas on Lake Ouachita and DeGray Lake offer access to some of the best hunting and fishing in the state.
Lake Ouachita State Park, near Mountain Pine, has 93 campsites, including 58 Class AAA sites with 50-amp electricity and water, 23 Class B sites and 12 walk-in sites.
From here you can enjoy excellent fishing for largemouth bass, spotted bass, white bass, striped bass, walleyes and bream.
Farther up the lake, along U.S. 270, is an archipelago of excellent Corps campgrounds that have a full range of amenities. Hunting opportunities abound in the national forest land bordering the lakeside, making these campgrounds ideal bases for hunting and fishing adventures.
Nestled between Arkadelphia and Bismarck is DeGray Lake, a smaller version of Lake Ouachita impounded from the Caddo River. There you will find excellent fishing for crappie, largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, bream, catfish, walleyes, white bass and, of course, white bass/striped bass hybrids.
They're all biting this month, and you can camp close to them at DeGray Lake State Park and a collection of Corps campgrounds.
Northeast
For outstanding fall camping and fishing, you can't do better than Village Creek State Park.
Covering 6,909 acres, Village Creek State Park has 96 campsites, including 24 Class AAA sites and 67 Class B sites.
Excellent bass fishing is available in lakes Austell and Dunn. Lake Dunn surrendered what would have been a state-record largemouth a few years ago if not for an unfortunate series of events that led to its disqualification.
To reach the park, take Exit 242 off I-40 at Forrest City and go 13 miles north on Arkansas 284.
South
For some of the best fall camping and fishing in south Arkansas, try White Oak Lake State Park at Bluff City.
This park is adjacent to Poison Springs State Forest and Lower White Oak Lake, which offers excellent fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and bream.
The park's campground has 45 campsites with a range of amenities.
To reach White Oak Lake State Park from I-30 at Prescott, go 20 miles east on Arkansas 24. Go a short distance on Arkansas 299 and then go 2 miles southeast on Arkansas 387.
Many more state parks and Corps campgrounds are awaiting your discovery. Find them at arkansasstateparks.com and arkansas.com/outdoors/camping/corps/
Sports on 10/30/2016